The plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum were called by the ancient Chinese the “Four Gentlemen.” The plum blossom was especially appreciated.
梅、兰、竹、菊被古人称为四君子。尤其是梅花，一直为国人赞赏。
“The plum blossom sprigs in the corner of the wall/
Alone bloom in the frosty chill/
Seen from afar I know it is not snow/
For a hint of the fragrance to come.”
“墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。遥知不是雪，为有暗香来。”
These verses were written by the Song Dynasty (960-1279) statesman Wang Anshi (王安石), in praise of plum blossoms. But what are the special characteristics of plum blossoms? “Alone bloom in the frosty chill” points out the difference between plum blossoms and other flowers. Other flowers bloom only in spring and summer; only the plum blos¬som has the hardihood to withstand the bone-piercing cold of winter; in fact, the colder it is the more luxuriantly the plum blossom blooms, and the sturdier its spirit.
这是宋代政治家王安石写的一首诗。这首诗的主角就是梅花。那么梅花有什么特点呢？“凌寒独自开 ”是梅花与其他花最大的不同点。别的花都是春夏开放，只有梅花能够忍耐冬天刺骨的寒冷，而且越是寒冷，花开得越饱满，越精神！
Legend has it that every flower and every month have an official patron. The official guardian of the plum blossom in January is Wang Zhaojun (王昭君). As one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China, her appearance was said to be strikingly like that of the plum blossom. But apart from this, what other similarities were there between Wang Zhaojun and the plum blossom?
传说每一种花每个月都有一位花神负责管理。正月管理梅花的花神是王昭君。昭君是古代四大美女之一，她有梅花一样不俗的容貌。除此之外，昭君和梅花还有哪些相似之处呢？
During the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD) there was constant warfare between the Han and the northern tribe of the Xiongnu. When finally both sides wanted peace be¬tween them, the Xiongnu leader Khan Huhanye visited the Han capital Chang’an three times to pay his respects to Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty and ask for a marriage al¬liance. This was a political arrangement whereby two countries could become related by marriage. Emperor Yuan valued highly such a connection with the Xiongnu, and decided to select a palace maid to go and marry the Xiongnu leader.
西汉年间，汉朝和北方民族匈奴之间征战不断，双方都希望能和平相处。匈奴首领呼韩邪单于三次到长安拜见汉朝皇帝，并向汉元帝请求和亲。“和亲 ”就是两国通过婚嫁实现交好。汉元帝十分重视与匈奴的关系，决定从后宫中选出一位女子远嫁匈奴。
However, the distant land of the Xiongnu was a bleak place, and all of the palace maids were reluctant to go there except Wang Zhaojun, who bravely volunteered to marry the Xiongnu chief for the sake of ending her people’s suffering. She said, “Finally, the leader of the Xiongnu desires peace with us. Whoever of us is willing to marry him will be a peace envoy. This is the great significance of such a step. I used to think of myself as be¬ing no more than a weak woman, who would never have the opportunity of serving my country like a man would. Now I have such a splendid opportunity!”
塞外遥远又寒冷，宫女们都不愿意去。一位名叫王昭君的宫女为了百姓不再受战争之苦，自告奋勇表示愿意去和亲。她说：“现在匈奴的首领终于愿意和咱们和平相处了。我们谁要是嫁到匈奴，就是和平的使者，这多么有意义啊！原来，我总想着自己是一个弱女子，没有机会像男儿一样报效国家。现在就是一个好机会。”
Emperor Yuan, hearing of her words, thought to himself: “The courage of this woman is really deserving of respect.” He hurriedly summoned Wang Zhaojun to his throne room.
汉元帝听后心想：这女子有这样的胸襟，真让人敬重。他急忙在大殿上召见了王昭君。
Wang Zhaojun was extremely beautiful, had a lofty character, and was dignified and graceful. She captivated the whole court, from the emperor to his ministers. Moved by both her beauty and her nobility of character, Emperor Yuan gave Wang Zhaojun rich rewards, and allowed her to go and marry the leader of the Xiongnu.
王昭君花容月貌，气质高贵，端庄得体，举止优雅。从帝王到臣子都惊呆了。汉元帝被昭君的美貌与气节打动，重赏昭君，让她远嫁到匈奴。
After she had done so, Wang Zhaojun not only devoted herself to maintaining peace between the Han and the Xiongnu, she also actively introduced the civilization of the Central Plain to the latter. There followed over half a century during which there were no more clashes between the two countries. Wang Zhaojun dedicated all her efforts to peace between the Han and the Xiongnu.
昭君嫁到匈奴后，与匈奴人民和睦相处，并把中原的文明传到了匈奴。从此，汉朝和匈奴半个多世纪没有交战。昭君为双方的和平贡献了自己的力量。
Such is the story of Wang Zhaojun. Do you feel that there was a difference between her and the other palace ladies? In order to benefit her country, Wang Zhaojun braved the harsh life of a far-off land, conquering her own fears about leaving home and making a choice the other palace ladies had refused. This was the embodiment of the plum blossom spirit – a “noble character fearless of hardship.” The legend goes that after her death, Wang Zhaojun returned to the Han court in the form of a plum blossom.
昭君的故事讲完了。你是否觉得昭君和其他宫女很不同呢？她能从家国利益出发，不怕塞外艰苦的生活环境，也克服了自己对远离家乡的恐惧，做出了和其他宫女不一样的选择。这正是梅花精神 “不惧艰难，质本高洁 ”的体现！传说她死后灵魂回到了汉朝化成了梅花。
Chinese history contains many accounts of staunch figures as unyielding as plum blossoms. They were the backbones of our people. That is probably the reason why the Chinese people cherish plum blossoms so much.
中华民族历史上有许多如梅花一样铮铮铁骨的人物，他们是民族的脊梁，也许这就是中国人民喜欢梅花的原因吧。
